You don't do EPP, EPP does you!

Do you remember the anti-drug campaign..."You don't do drugs, drugs do you"?  Well, the same could be said for English Paper Piecing--seriously, dangerously addictive!  I was looking for something to do at night when I typically surf Pinterest, blogs, and online shop.  Picking up crochet again was a consideration, but Rebecca said NO to that since it would involve yarn mess and she is already overwhelmed with the quilting mess.  So I thought maybe I should learn to EPP.  I had purchased some hexagons at a quilt show a few years ago and tried to make a flower but it took forever and I quickly gave up...

Fast forward to last week and the whole story changed.  I bought some smaller 1" hexagons and my LQS and tried basting again.  I like the 1" size because the unfinished hexagon can be easily cut from a 2.5" strip of fabric and I had lots of 2.5" strips leftover from my Scrappy Trip Along that I'll never finish...I think I made about 30 flowers in 5 days....

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I sewed about 10 flowers into a column and am trying to applique it to a white background.  This is tricky because I don't really know how to applique...thank you You Tube for lots of instruction!  And Sharon also gave me some handy tips and tricks to make it easier....

One thing I was unsure of was when to remove the papers from the outside ring of hexagons.  So I just took them out carefully, after pressing the flower, and pinned the crap out of them so they'd remain stationary on my fabric.  Working with this is a hot mess since 10 flowers = about 150 sharp little pins.  What was I thinking??

 So then the applique got difficult and I set it aside to work on EPP some diamonds...2" diamonds to be exact.  Since I'm going to make a fantastic, award winning (wink!) quilt, I actually decided to cut into my Kaffe fabrics.  This quilt will be so damn awesome that I will have to be buried in it!!  No kidding, that great....I've only got 4 stars done so far (just one night's work) and it is getting easier.  The first one I did on some scrap fabric and I almost gave up.  But then I realized it was just the fabric (vintage shirt), not the piecing itself.

This is the back...I don't know what to put in the diamonds that connect the stars so I can't remove any papers...Also, I'm not needling through the papers, just basting the corners of the pieces.  I'm hoping the papers last longer and I really didn't want to poke through cardstock anyhow....

 If you are interested in trying EPP, the best source for everything from supplies, to inspiration, to coloring diagrams and free patters is Paper Pieces....They have it all!  You can also buy papers and such from Etsy stores.  Paper Pieces also sells coordinating acrylic templates to you can quickly, and accurately, cut your starter pieces.  I bought the 2" diamonds because they are cut from 2.5" strips--and the template that matches.  I can cut zillions of little diamonds in no time from my strips.  The templates are well worth the money, in my opinion.

Anyhow, my Juki just sits there...doing nothing.  I don't even want to sew on it...what now??  LOL....

Happy Sewing!